Getty Kevin Durant and Steve Nash during a recent Brooklyn Nets practice.
On Friday, the Brooklyn Nets suffered their worst loss of the season. Kevin Durant and company fell 96-114 to a young and hungry Atlanta Hawks team who are most definitely on the rise in the Eastern Conference. While the Hawks were looking to avenge themselves from their loss to Brooklyn in the previous game, Steve Nash and his star-studded squad had their opportunities to get the game under control. Nash decided to take a more unconventional approach.
Nash Didn’t Call Timeout During Early Hawks Run
One would think that when the Hawks opened an 11-point lead in the second quarter that they would never relinquish, Nash could have slowed down the young Hawks’ momentum by simply calling a timeout. Nash, in his first year as head coach in Brooklyn, wanted to allow the Nets to work through the growing pains. By not bailing them out by calling a timeout.
“It was early,” Nash told Kristian Winfield of the Daily News. “I want to give them an opportunity to try to problem-solve, to try to figure things out themselves throughout the season. That does not mean I won’t call timeouts. But at the same time, I want to give them an opportunity to feel that, to feel the other team going on a run, and to solve some of those problems themselves. That was more the thinking. It’s game six and it’s the second quarter and we’re not shooting the ball well, so I wanted to give them a little bit of time to try to find it and, more than anything, to feel that and experience that together so they can continue to build their resolve and understanding.”
KD, Joe Harris Agree With Nash’s Decision
Although it was the Nets’ worst loss of the season, Brooklyn’s star forward Kevin Durant continued to improve upon his early case for Most Valuable Player last night. The 2014 MVP registered 28 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots. While Durant’s star continued to shine his running mate Kyrie Irving struggled last night scoring just 18 points on 6-21 shooting. Still, Durant was a fan of Nash’s decision to not call a timeout.
“Your maturity as a team is tested especially when they’re going (on a) run and see how you could stay together,” Durant told the Daily News. “I think it’s a good exercise for us to see, especially when teams go on good spurts and see if we can bounce back. Steve has done a great job of knowing when to call timeout and when to let us play. Guys are learning on the fly. So, I like to see what he’s doing.”
Durant was not the only player that agreed with Nash’s decision. Brooklyn’s rising star Joe Harris knows that he and his teammates must hold themselves accountable in order to be successful. “Regardless of the timeout or not, we have to take a little bit of ownership and figure it out yourself, man to man,” Harris said to the Daily News. “I think you can’t be looking to the sidelines hoping to have a timeout when everybody across the board is capable of bearing down and getting a stop defensively and then getting a good possession offensively.”
If the Nets hope to have a championship run, they must be prepared to face adversity. These are the type of moments that prepare you for that.
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Durant, Teammates Sound off on Nash’s Coaching Decisions